KIA MATE Ā URUROA, THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF CAPT. HARDING LEAF MC

A Maori goes to war

Synopsis

Captain Harding Leaf was a charismatic, larger-than-life soldier and natural leader who served in both World War One and Two. What set him apart was the incredible fighting spirit of his warrior ancestors. Indeed, he was a New Zealand Maori. For his heroic acts of bravery at Gallipoli and on the Western Front in France he was awarded the Military Cross by King George.

However, he could be undisciplined and was in trouble more than once for striking British officers who made racist remarks. But he was too good a soldier to be dismissed or demoted.

Harding Leaf enlisted again in WW2, at the age of 50 and was killed in action in the Battle of Crete in 1941.